The present invention pertains generally to games, and in particular to a game in which a player endeavors to select objects in a pre-established sequential order.
A number of games have been devised for casino play and wagering including, but not limited to, table games such as craps, roulette, and blackjack, and gaming devices such as slot machines and video display devices for games such as poker, keno, blackjack, and other familiar games of chance. In one sense these games can be divided into two broad categories, those which depend solely on random probabilities and require no player skill other than pulling a handle or pushing a button, and those which depend on a combination of random probabilities and player skill. By far the two most popular formats for gaming devices are the slot machine and the video poker machine. However, these two types of games often appeal to different groups of individuals. Those who play and enjoy slot machines may not enjoy playing video poker machines, and vice versa. Slot machines require no special knowledge or skill on the part of the player, whereas to play video poker machines well the player must have some understanding of the rules of poker. There then appears to be a middle ground which has not been addressed and which is embraced by the present invention. To wit, a game which does not require that a player understand the rules of a particular game, but rather only that the player be able to exercise some skill in placing objects in a predetermined sequential order.
The present invention is directed to a method of playing an object selection game. The game comprises a player attempting to place a plurality of objects in a predetermined sequential order. The player is rewarded according to how many correctly ordered objects have been achieved. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the player must decide during the course of the game whether to next select an object which has already been revealed, or alternatively to next select a hidden object. In accordance with another possible embodiment of the present invention, more than one object is revealed to the player, thereby increasing the player""s chance of correctly placing the objects in proper sequence.
The present invention includes elements, rules, and logic as specified herein. The method of the subject invention is unique in that it involves a high degree of player interaction, making the game more attractive to the player than a game based purely on a random outcome (e.g., a slot machine), while still retaining a mostly random determination of the outcome. The game also provides for combinations and methods of playing the game which have certain winning combinations of very low probability, which makes it possible to offer certain payoffs of extreme value. High value payoffs are very attractive to players and are important if the game is used with a local area or wide area network where multiple games at different locations participate in a common high-value jackpot. In the current state of the art only multi-reel slot machines have been able to provide winning combinations of suitably low probability to support networks with high-value jackpots. To maintain player interest it is also important to have outcomes of high and moderate probability so that the player is rewarded with frequent small and medium payoffs. Such combinations are easily constructed using this method. These combinations of features are not available in other traditional games of chance.
NOTE: Examples [shown in italics] are intended to assist in forming a visualization of the elements, rules, or logic described and to be illustrative or suggestive of possible implementations, but not to limit the concept only to those examples presented. In particular, while the examples given use tangible physical realizations such as a gaming table or board game, it is well known that analogous electronic representations such as a video game and associated computer and computer program can be constructed using an identical logical basis. All realizations of this game which are based on the elements, rules, and logic described herein are therefore embraced by the present invention.
In the play of the game, a set (Pool) of distinguishable objects are provided. The specific distinguishing characteristics of some of the objects are obscured or hidden. Some of the objects may be revealed to the player before starting play. From time to time after play begins additional objects may be put into play. Once play has begun, the player selects the objects one at a time. Beginning with the second or a subsequent selection, the current selection and one or more of the previous selections are tested to see if they have been selected in an acceptable order according to an ordering rule. If so, the player is allowed to select another object and the comparison process is repeated. After each selection a terminating rule is invoked to determine whether play terminates or continues. After play terminates, the game is then scored according to the presence or absence of certain selected objects or combinations of objects.
If no objects are revealed to the player before the selection process begins, the game is essentially a pure game of chance, although by consciously making selection decisions, the player may subjectively feel that he is controlling the outcome. When one or more objects are revealed to the player before the selection process begins, an element of player skill is added which strongly reinforces the subjective feeling of control. This occurs because the player has knowledge of the objects which have already been selected as well as knowledge of the revealed objects which have not yet been selected. This knowledge allows the player to decide the best strategy for selecting the revealed objects. To what extent the actual outcome of the game is still predominantly determined by chance can be controlled by the selection of the various rules. These features make the present invention ideally suited for use as a gambling device, however it may also be utilized without the placement of wagers.
In one preferred embodiment, there is a correct solution or winning combination for every hand played in that no hands can be dealt which do not have a winning sequence. Whether or not the player achieves the win depends solely on the order in which the objects are selected. The shuffle or randomization of the objects changes their placement on the playing field but does not change the probability of the player selecting a winning combination. When used as a gambling device, the shuffle is used to randomly vary the maximum possible payoff amount for a winning hand. That is, all hands can be correctly placed in order, but certain hands will have more inherent value than others. With games like Poker, a winning hand is predominantly determined by the shuffle and, to a lesser degree, by the player""s choice of which cards to hold or discard. Similarly, in Blackjack the results are mostly determined by the shuffle; the player exhibiting control only in deciding when to quit receiving cards from the deck.
The most essential ideas of this invention are (1) the selection of hidden objects which can be placed in a defined order or sequence, (2) the scoring of the game based on rules which determine the value of the objects which have successfully been selected and placed in order, (3) the concept of previewing some of the objects so that the player can exercise skill by altering his selection strategy, (4) the high degree of player interaction, (5) the ability to construct card games and other types of interactive games with certain outcomes of extremely low probability while retaining combinations of high and moderate probability, and (6) in certain embodiments, a method which provides that every hand is a potential winner regardless of how the objects have been shuffled.
The specific elements and rules of the game are these:
1) PLAYER The Player is allowed to be familiar with all the elements of the game, including the types of objects and all the rules. The player is not allowed to know which specific objects have been put in play or their relative positions on the Field. In some variations of the game all the available objects will be put in play and the player will know that, but the player still will not be allowed to know the actual position of each object on the Field.
2) DEALER The Dealer randomizes the objects in the Pool and distributes (deals) them onto the Field. In an electronic implementation this function is provided by a psuedo-random number generator and associated logic elements . . .
3) POOL The Pool comprises a set of objects wherein each individual object has an order property which allows the objects to be distinguished from one another. Examples of such sets of objects are: (a) a set of standard playing cards, (b) a subset of integer numbers such as the set {1, 1, 2, 5, 5, 5, 8}, (c) a set consisting of one blue circle, one red circle, two green squares, and three red triangles.
4) FIELD The Field (or dealing area) is the first of two physical sections of play. The Field must be able to contain all of the objects which are dealt and their hiding means, but has no particular organization.
5) RACK The Rack (or playing area) is the second of two physical sections of play. The Rack must be able to contain all of the objects which are selected according to the rules, but not their hiding means, and in addition it must have specific sequential locations for these objects or use some other method to preserve the order of their selection. The physical areas of the Field and the Rack may overlap in some embodiments of the game.
6) HIDING MEANS A means must be provided which disguises or hides the distinguishing properties of the objects which have been dealt until they have been revealed to or selected by the player in accordance with the rules. Examples of such means are: (a) cards having a Face which displays the object and a Back which is identical for all such cards in the set, such objects are hidden by displaying only the Backs of the cards to the player, (b) opaque cups or envelopes which are placed over the objects so that they cannot be seen, all such cups or envelopes having an identical appearance.
7) CLUSTER The Cluster is the subset of objects distributed from the Pool during the deal. The number of objects in the Cluster is referred to as the Cluster Size and must be greater than one.
8) DEALING RULE The Dealing Rule determines the process for distributing a subset of objects from the Pool and placing each chosen object onto the Field. The distribution process must randomize the dealt objects so that the Player cannot know which objects have been placed in the various locations on the Field. An example of such a rule is: Shuffle a deck of cards four times and deal nine cards face down off the top of the deck.
9) REVEALING RULE After the objects have been dealt none, one, or more, but not all, of the objects put onto the Field may be revealed to the player before play begins, in accordance with a Revealing Rule. Examples of such a rule are: (a) after seven cards are dealt face down the player is allowed free choice to reveal any two cards before play begins, (b) after five cards are dealt face down, turn the third card face up, (c) after six objects are placed in opaque envelopes none of the objects may be revealed before play begins.
10) SELECTING RULE The Selecting Rule governs which objects may be selected by the player. Objects are selected from the Field, and placed on the Rack in the order of selection. An example of such a rule is: The player may select any one of the objects in the Field which have not yet been selected.
11) ORDERING RULE This rule must unambiguously define whether two sequentially selected objects have been selected in an acceptable (proper) order. An example of the Ordering Rule is: For {A, B}, B must be greater than or equal to A. Some selected pairs of objects which would fit this rule are {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 6}, and {3, 3}. Conversely {3, 1} and {5, 2} would not fit this rule.
12) TERMINATING RULE The Terminating Rule determines when play ends. It is invoked (or tested) after any object selection. If play is not terminated by this rule, then play continues by having the player make another selection. It is noted that, if the Field is empty (contains no more objects), play terminates automatically. An example of such a rule is: Play ends the second time an object selected by the player is not in proper sequence according to the ordering rule or when seven objects have been placed in the Rack.
13) SCORING RULE The Scoring Rule determines the score to be awarded to the player after play has terminated. Scores may take into account certain properties of the objects themselves, thereby adding an additional element of chance due to the random nature of the dealing rule. If the present invention is being played as a gambling game, the score will equate to a payoff. An example of such a rule is: If play is terminated because a selected object did not fit the ordering rule, then the score is the count of the number of successfully selected objects, not including the selected object which failed the ordering rule. If play is terminated because there were no more objects to select, then the score is two times the Cluster Size. If all the successfully selected objects are the same color, multiply the score by five.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method of playing an object selection game, includes:
(a) Starting a round of play.
(b) Providing a set of objects, the set of objects containing a plurality of different individual objects, wherein each individual object has an order property in accordance with an ordering rule. In a preferred embodiment, the set of objects is a deck of playing cards, and the ordering rule ranks the cards in accordance with their face value.
(c) Dealing a subset of objects from the set of objects to a player in accordance with a dealing rule. In a preferred embodiment, the objects are dealt so that their order property is hidden.
(d) Revealing a portion of the subset of objects dealt in step (d) to the player in accordance with a revealing rule. In a preferred embodiment, one object is revealed.
(e) The player selecting a previously unselected object from the subset of objects dealt in step (c) in accordance with a selecting rule, and placing the selected object in a playing area adjacent to the last selected object.
(f) After each selection in step (e), using a terminating rule to test whether play shall stop. If xe2x80x9cnoxe2x80x9d returning to step (e) and selecting another object. If xe2x80x9cyesxe2x80x9d proceeding to step (g).
(g) Computing a score in accordance with a scoring rule. And,
(h) ending the round of play.